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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26938021">family is forged (in bond and blood and bones)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterWinged/pseuds/WriterWinged'>WriterWinged</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the darkness of our history (comes hunting after us) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Fluff, Found Family, Gen, How Do I Tag, and how the family dynamics work, look its a bunch of meetings, shifting povs, uhhhhh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:40:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,224</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26938021</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterWinged/pseuds/WriterWinged</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which a family is made up of a old survivor (<strike>warrior</strike>), a musician (<strike>madman</strike>), a conqueror (<strike>farmer</strike>), and a boy that has yet to find himself (<strike>but he has</strike>).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dave | Technoblade &amp; Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson, family bonds - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the darkness of our history (comes hunting after us) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965625</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>933</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. there was once an old survivor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i really wanted to write something about the sbi family dynamics in this verse. whoops. it also has an actual name now, ‘the darkness of our history (comes hunting after us)’ and a new tag on tumblr ‘history comes hunting’</p>
<p>this is almost 3k words. wtf. i don't know when the next chapter will be out. maybe next saturday. probably. i'll try. no promises.</p>
<p>on tumblr: https://writerwinged.tumblr.com/</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Philza was born in a town in a forest at the edge of a lake. He was born fully human, to human parents, and he loved that town. He learned to hunt and to build shelter and how to survive in the wilderness from his parents. His family had helped found that town, many generations ago, but had left as it flourished until all that was left was his little family.</p>
<p>When he was 16, he left that town to search out something more. His parents wished him well, having known since he was a young boy that he was meant for more then the town. As he wandered, he heard tales of a great city, built at the heart of the world, where legends were made.</p>
<p>He reached the city two years after he had left the town, a meandering path that lead him through dangerous woods and deadly seas that lead to the city at the heart of the world. It was there that he learned of the desperate race against time. It was there where he stepped forward and offered himself as bait, as a distraction. He had survived so many things, what was an endless hunt?</p>
<p>They gave to him books filled with knowledge the beasts wanted destroyed, papers and ideas that would one day help break them free from their cage. They told him he would earn no recognition, that if he died none would mourn him aside from his family. Philza did not care.</p>
<p>He took the books and knowledge, painted a target on his back, and left the city. The beasts followed him, racing him to a destination only given in secrecy, a destination that didn’t exist. He lead them on a merry chase, one step ahead for as long as he could, as others worked and worked to free them from the world.</p>
<p>However, even the beasts learned in time. They laid a trap, drew him to the town that he had been born in, that his family had built. and when he came racing, they sprung it. And yet, he survived still. As his town burned around him, as the people died like cattle, as his family was slaughtered before him, he survived.</p>
<p>He picked off the beasts for days, waiting and hoping that his panicked communication made it through. By the third day, the town was all but gone, shattered remnants of it’s glory. By the third day, help arrived and Philza had survived where others had not.</p>
<p>He buried his family, buried his town, buried the last of his reason to fight. He returned to the city at the center of the world and gave to them the distraction, threw it at their feet and left, his grief a heavy cloak around him. He did not leave the city again for many months.</p>
<p>In time, he heals his shattered heart, cuts his cloak of grief till it is only a piece of what it was. In time, he takes up a sword and hunts the beasts. Once more, he races through the woods and over the sea, but this time, he is the chaser and not the chased.</p>
<p>As the knowledgeable in the city build and test and push limits, he hunts down nest after nest of the beasts, picking off the roving bands at the edge of the world until they are reduced to nothing. Sometimes he is not alone, sometimes he joins the adventurers that seek out the lost knowledge.</p>
<p>When the first created worlds are announced, he returns to the city at the center of the world and hunts down the beasts that try to break them. And through it all, he survives and survives and fights. The number of beasts slain by him stands with even the least known of the legendary.</p>
<p>When word breaks out that they are finally free of their cage of a world, he goes back to the wild to ensure that all are told, to help usher them to freedom. Still, when the time comes for him to leave the first world behind, he hesitates. He looks back, towards the skeleton of his town, towards the graves that mark his home, but he still leaves.</p>
<p>Like many others, he stays at Hypixel for a time, adjusting to their new reality. He learns to live with the star that respawn, learns what it means to be admin of a world. He learns that a peaceful world is not for him. He learns of how they managed to make a world that imitates a final death.</p>
<p>He tries it, finds he likes it, and lives.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Wilbur is not someone he expects to find. It is after the record that he sets, a new world to explore, unclaimed by any other. At least, that is what he thinks in the beginning. As he explores, he finds signs that it is not so. Trees burned, an cave stripped of resources, yet no place to call home.</p>
<p>Philza finds these signs and tracks them, traces the path of the person who left. As he follows, he grows more concerned, worries over the signs of injury that turn to sickness. Eventually, he find them, he finds the boy in the snow of a taiga, the chill reaching to his bones.</p>
<p>Philza doesn’t have time to take the boy back to his base, so he builds a temporary one. He makes it small, but the walls are think and sturdy, trapping the warmth of the furnace inside. He curls around the boy on the bed, the thick wool sheets cocooning them. He fears sleep, for if he sleeps, the boy may vanish.</p>
<p>The night is spent in a quiet terror, not a terror of the boy dying, but of losing him to the endless emptiness of the worlds around them. If he dies, Philza may never find him again. When dawn breaks, so does his fever. Philza breaths easier as he bundles the boy, gangly and thin, in the sheets of the bed and treks back to his base.</p>
<p>A few times, the boy wakes up, confused and scared. Each time, Philza calms him and manages to make him eat and drink even a few things. He checks the boy’s health each time, hoping that he won’t take a turn for the worst. His base, as small and simple as it is, is a welcome sight.</p>
<p>He has no brewing stand, no potions to encourage healing and health, but he does have soup and food. Slowly, the boy wakes more and more, remembers better and better. Philza does not leave the world, fearful that if he does the boy will not be there when he returns.</p>
<p>He contacts old friends, ones that have learned how to raise children and deal with their sicknesses, and asks how to deal with this. As he learns, the boy grows stronger and stronger, his health better and better with every passing day.</p>
<p>At first, the boy is wary, his life unkind and unfair. He watches Philza with untrusting eyes, waiting for him to show his true colors. Philza is patient, a patience learned hunting the beasts in the first world, and proves himself time and time again to the boy.</p>
<p>Eventually, the boy softens, eyes turned from wary to trusting. Eventually, Philza learns that the boy’s name is Wilbur, Wilbur Soot, and that he doesn’t know where he is. All he remembers is that he was at home, outside, and then he was somewhere new. He’s been lost for a long time.</p>
<p>Philza asks if he knows what a spawnpoint is. Wilbur answers no. Philza can’t help but close his eyes and send a prayer for the boy’s parents, wherever they may be. So he takes in the boy, teaches him how to harness the light of the respawn system and instinctively make a spawnpoint.</p>
<p>He teaches him and finds that he has grown to love the boy. Philza grows to love teaching him, taking him to other worlds and introducing him to old friends. He loves the look in Wilbur’s eyes when he show him music, he loves the manic laughter and wild schemes he gets up too.</p>
<p>The days go on and Philza survives, except he’s not alone anymore. Now, he has a boy who loves music and laughs and teases to make it living.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Techno is found by chance in the Nether of a new world. Philza isn’t sure how he ended up there, what spawn glitch or mod that caused him to be there, or if he found his way there himself. He doubts he ever will.</p>
<p>All he knows is that he was exploring, looking of lava lakes that hinted at more, at a change in the makeup of the Nether and then instincts that had saved him time and time again had him leaping away. He turned, expecting a griefer or pker or even one of the new hunters and found a child instead.</p>
<p>The child, for what else could the small figure be, didn’t hesitate and attacked again and again. Again and again, Philza dodged out of the way, looking over the child with wondering eyes.</p>
<p>The sword was made of gold and in surprisingly good condition. The clothes that the child had on were threadbare and showed signs of him having been there for a very long time. The child himself was easily identifiable as a pig, two floppy ears sticking out of soft pink hair and tiny tusks framing the mouth. Philza risked a glance to his feet, noting that they were hooved, much like his hands.</p>
<p>Of course, he paid for his inattention with a thin gash over his chest. He hissed at the feeling, his next leap pushing him much farther away. The child didn’t come after him, watching as he raised a hand to the gash and bemoaning the blood in his shirt.</p>
<p>The sword is lowered as he continues to take no action against the child and slowly, those eyes turn from wary to curious. Slowly, the child comes closer and closer. Philza doesn’t dare move too quick, not out of fear of the sword, but rather fear of the child leaving, vanishing with not a trace.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for both of them, they forgot that the Nether is not a kind place and you must not dally. They are both reminded with the terrifying scream of a ghast, echoing against the walls. Philza doesn’t even think, only reacts. He throws himself at the child, shielding him with his own body as they tumble away from the blast.</p>
<p>The child struggles as Philza scrambles to his feet and runs, knowing that the cry of the ghast may attract the attention of others. The sword is lost in the tumble, the child’s fists the only weapon he wields. Philza runs, hiding in a crevice too small for ghasts to enter.</p>
<p>There, he lets go of the child, careful not to trap him in a corner, to give him the option of running, even if his heart hurt at the thought of losing this child to the unforgiving worlds. The child scrambled away, but did not leave. He watches warily as Philza sits down, now feeling the injuries from his tumble.</p>
<p>He bought out food and bandages to tend to them and to offer to the child. He took his offering quickly, darting in and out and devouring the food. Philza didn’t want to think about what he had been eating. There was no food in the Nether.</p>
<p>He wrapped his wounds, offering food and water to the child in intervals. Eventually, the child’s eyes began to drop, eventually, the feeling of a full stomach began to lure him to sleep. Philza took a chance then, moving so that he was closer to the exit.</p>
<p>The child didn’t react, so they spent the night like that, one resting, the other watching for the monsters. When the child awoke, he gasped in surprise at the sight of Philza waiting for him. Much like with Wilbur, he spoke softly, coaxing bits and pieces of the child’s story into the light.</p>
<p>He learned that the child’s name was Technoblade, that he had wandered into the Nether through a portal, that he did not remember his parents, that he had been alone for a long time. Once more, Philza offered safety to a scared little boy, and once more, he accepted.</p>
<p>Philza took Techno into his arms, linked the stars of their respawn, and brought him to the world he had made his home with Wilbur. Wilbur greeted him with delight, dampened only a bit by the sight of a unknown child in his arms.</p>
<p>In time, Wilbur would come to love his new brother and learn when it was too much for him. He sparred with him and played pranks with him and got in trouble with him. Philza couldn’t help but smile at them every time he saw them, every time he saw Wilbur help Techno build his confidence.</p>
<p>In time, Philza introduced Techno to his old friends and he learned a great many things from them, such as how to fight, and fight well. He took to Hypixel like a duck to water, testing and refining those skills to terrifying levels. Philza couldn’t be more proud.</p>
<p>The days that followed were even brighter then the ones before. Philza survived, but his days were filled with the sound of music and laughter from the two children he had claimed as his own.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Philza never really found out how Wilbur and Techno found Tommy, but he remembers coming home and finding him struggling against Techno’s grip. On one hand, he wasn’t really surprised that they had taken him in, but on another, he was worried about upset parents hunting him down.</p>
<p>It had taken only one conversation with the kid to know that he was staying. He had no one but a friend lost worlds ago, he barely understood respawn, he was so young, younger then even Techno had been when Philza found him.</p>
<p>By the end, Philza had already accepted that the kid, that Tommy, was the newest member of their little family, that his boys would never let him go. He was already planning out what he’d say to old friends when they met next. Tommy, unfortunately, didn’t seem to get that message, attempting to flee every chance he got.</p>
<p>For a bit, Philza thought it cute, thought that it was harmless, until Tommy practically broke down crying about his missing friend, his missing brother. It stopped being harmless and cute then. He wiped the tears away, let him cry until he couldn’t anymore and promised him that he would look for his brother.</p>
<p>Every time he went left the world they claimed as home, he did. He looked for the boy that loved bees and flowers and was so very strong. He asked old friends to keep an eye out, to watch for the missing kid. Some admitted that the description was familiar, that they may have met the kid.</p>
<p>One, who had fought for his goddess of balance, admitted to him in secret that he had done his best to keep in contact with the kid, that he wanted to tell Philza more but wouldn’t, for the kid’s sake. Philza understood and only asked if he was safe.</p>
<p>He told much the same to Tommy, who was relieved that his best friend had someone like Philza looking out for him. He watched as a weight was lifted off of him, as he stopped trying to leave, as he laughed easier, as he acted his age.</p>
<p>Wilbur and Techno found his newfound happiness as both blessing and a curse. He wasn’t trying to throw himself into danger anymore, but now he proved how much of a gremlin he really was, and his brothers bore the brunt of his pranks and schemes.</p>
<p>Philza saw it as a sign that things were better, that they would get even better. He survives in a world filled with three children he loves and adores. He survives with a family, so different then his first, but that he wouldn’t give up for the world.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. and a mad musician</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>only a day off! here's chapter 2 of four! this one is allll wilbur’s pov. techno's chapter is the next one and once again, i'll try for next saturday but no promises.</p>
<p>i'm on tumblr and sometimes talk about what i'm writing: https://writerwinged.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wilbur’s memories of his birth world are fuzzy and indistinct. He remembers buildings and streets and a garden, but not the names of the people there. He remembers listening to someone singing, the sound of instruments during a festival, but never the words.</p>
<p>He remembers being in the garden, the low drone of people talking in the background, the sun as it slowly set. He remembers wandering to the edge, noticing a patch of darkness under the trees that just grew darker. He remembers a spike in the noise, his name being called, turning around and then nothing.</p>
<p>He never remembers if his first death was to a creeper or an enderman. He never remembers the name of his birth world, the names of his birth family. Sometimes he wonders if they recognize him, if they see him in the growing interconnection of worlds.</p>
<p>He never wonders for long. If they did, they would have contacted him, wouldn’t they? In his darkest moments, he wonders if they killed him, sent him away. His family never lets him dwell on those thoughts, chasing them away like a fox with a chicken.</p>
<p>He might not remember the world and family of his birth, but the one that found him, that loves him, no matter what he does, is more then enough for him.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>When Philza finds him in the cold, cold snow, when he saves him and takes care of him, Wilbur is scared. He is so scared and confused, no clue where he is or where his home is. He doesn’t know who this hatted man is, who had bundled him up and saved him.</p>
<p>He watched with wary eyes as he made calls like the fuzzy memories, as he whispered in the night, trying to figure out his home and how to get him back there.</p>
<p>Then he starts trusting him when a new person showed up at their little cabin in the woods. Philza, for by then he had learned his name, had pulled the sunglasses wearing stranger inside and they had a intense whispered discussion. Even then, he had known it was about him.</p>
<p>He had tried to eavesdrop, but much of what they said made no sense to a child, let alone a child that had never heard of other worlds or respawn. The only thing he understood were the words, “We don’t know, Phil. We can’t find his world.”</p>
<p>Philza had asked him questions about his home, had pulled every bit of information that he could from Wilbur’s fuzzy memories. But the number of deaths he had dealt with and the number of worlds he had inadvertently hopped had blurred places together, made time warp even more then it already did for a child.</p>
<p>He’d exposed himself with a hiccupping sob at those words, it finally dawning on him that he would never be able to go home. He would remembered Philza’s reaction forever, one of his clearest memories.</p>
<p>Philza had spun towards him at the sound, his eyes, glistening with tears, widening at the sight Wilbur had made, his too-large beanie and the wrapped blanket. He didn’t hesitate, darting towards him, dropping to his knees and pulling him into a hug.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembers how warm he felt, how he had burrowed into the hug and let lose the tears. He remembers the soothing words Philza had whispered to him, rocking him in his arms. He remembers drifting off to not-quite sleep, exhausted and so, so tired.</p>
<p>There had been another whispered conversation that he’d only caught pieces of, but when he woke up, Philza had been curled around him in front of the furnace. He had been running his fingers through Wilbur’s hair, soothing and familiar in a heart wrenching way. </p>
<p>When he had realized that Wilbur was awake, he had asked how he was feeling and if he was up to talking. Wilbur had said yes and Philza had quietly explained that Wilbur could go to any of the many settled worlds, that Philza would ensure that he was safe wherever he choose to go.</p>
<p>Wilbur didn’t want to leave Philza. While he had only just really started to trust him, he was a familiar sight, something that he had desperately needed. His voice was shaky and rough, but he said he wanted to stay, that he didn’t want to go to any of the other worlds.</p>
<p>Philza’s voice had been shaky when he said that that was a perfectly fine choice. Wilbur hadn’t said anything and simply burrowed back into his arms, something telling him that he was safe now.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered how he never regretted choosing Philza, how thankful that it had been him that found him. He remembered that, even on his darkest days.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered when Philza brought Techno back. He had gone out the day before to explore a nearby world and hadn’t come back before nightfall. Wilbur was used to that, as not every world ticked along at the same speed as the First, but he couldn’t help but worry.</p>
<p>Seeing Philza come back through the window, he couldn’t help but throw himself towards the front door, eager and so happy to see him, even it he wouldn’t easily admit it. He only faltered a little at the sight of a pink haired child in his arms, surprised and fearful, but Philza’s eyes lightened, his mouth curving into a smile and Wilbur knew that this was a good thing, or would be.</p>
<p>Getting to know Technoblade, wiggling under his armor and making him smile, was a exercise in patience. Patience that Wilbur did not have at the time. Philza, more then once, had to pull the two of them apart from a fight, with swords or words.</p>
<p>Wilbur learned of Techno’s sarcastic tongue and deadpan humor before he learned of his quiet encouragements and steadfast courage. They clashed and grated against each other, their own issues catching and grinding against each other until they finally broke.</p>
<p>They fought and fought and fought and it wasn’t until they had a fight that shattered their expectations that they finally, finally being to be brothers. They swore to never tell Philza the reason they began to get along. They would never be able to escape that scolding.</p>
<p>(Wilbur remembered looking at Techno, blood dripping down his face and from his sword, and realizing that this boy was just as lost and as lonely as him.)</p>
<p>Wilbur found that Techno was sweet, in his own way, and eager to please his family and so very very loyal. Wilbur loved his brother on the days that they got along and on days that they didn’t. Wilbur loved his brother’s blood-thirsty and competitive nature.</p>
<p>They still fought, still bickered and argued but never as bad as in the beginning. They never snapped at each others weak spots, never dug at old wounds and scars. They’d learned their lessons, learned what happened when they went too far.</p>
<p>Wilbur found a quiet peace with Techno, able to string his songs together with a listening ear that wouldn’t pick at the faults. He knew <strike>his father</strike> Philza would do the same, but it wasn’t something that a child could admit easily.</p>
<p>Through Techno, he learned that the darkness that sometimes lurked at the edge of his thoughts wasn’t something to shy from, to fear and to shove away into a dark corner. Through his brother, he learned that Philza wouldn’t condemn him, would help him.</p>
<p>He learned that there was no limit on a family’s love, there were no conditions that would mean they wouldn’t love him. Oh, Philza could be disappointed in him, could wonder why, but he would never stop loving him.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered never regretting not speaking out against the pink hair child, remembered how easily he fit into their little family.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered how finding Tommy had been a accident. He hadn’t been at the world their family had claimed as home, but rather on of the worlds that had progressed far beyond the rest. While it was one of the most technologically advanced worlds, it wasn’t a paradise.</p>
<p>He had been in one of the parks, practicing one of his newer songs when he had seen the boy. He had been mostly hidden behind the trees, eyes watching him. Wilbur hadn’t cared the first time, had noted the boy and moved on. But when he had seen him time and time again, he had grown curious.</p>
<p>Techno had known something was up when he started to return to the same world multiple times in a row. Wilbur was forced to tell him about the boy that he had noticed, and Techno couldn’t help but agree with him.</p>
<p>Wilbur had recognized that look in the boy’s eyes, had recognized the feelings swimming in those blue eyes. He had felt them once upon a time, wandering from world to world through death after death. He knew Techno saw the same thing, recognized the same feelings, for he too had felt them once.</p>
<p>Their visits to that world weren’t regular, sometimes it was both of them, sometimes it was just one of them, sometimes Wilbur’s friends would show up. Sometimes the boy was there, sometimes he wasn’t. Wilbur was able to be patient now, had learned it over time.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered when he had finally reached the end of his patience. He remembered that Techno had been there too, that it was almost night, the sun just barely visible above the horizon. He remembered that they hadn’t seen the boy for the whole day. He remembered how he felt when they had finally seen him.</p>
<p>Wilbur had only seen him from the corner of his eye, but he had grown used to checking, and he had frozen the instant he had processed what he was seeing. The boy had dozens of small cuts all over his arms and face, blood coating the side of his face and matting his hair, tear streaks cutting through it all.</p>
<p>Techno had caught onto his change in mood and had cracked one eye open to look only to freeze as well. The boy hadn’t noticed them yet, his eyes closed as he took soft breaths in sleep, only the occasional hitch of pain. Wilbur couldn’t be patient anymore, he had been watching over this boy for so long that he was all but his family.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered how he had stored away his guitar, rising to his feet, Techno right beside him. He remembered how empty the park had seemed, how lonely, how he asked himself how he could have justified waiting, how he berated that he should have taken the boy the first time he thought that he was alone.</p>
<p>They had walked past, not towards, the boy, making sure that it seemed like it was a coincidence that the boy was along the path that they were taking. Wilbur remembered how easy it had been to scoop the boy up, how he had only shifted in Techno’s arms, burrowing his face into the fur of his cape.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered slipping the threads of his respawn star into a net over the boy’s, blanketing him and connecting to him as they walked through the park. He remembered pulling the boy along as they left the world, the net not allowing the boy to leave, even when he began to struggle.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered how it took time for tommy to trust them, how Philza broke through his walls first and learned of his missing best friend. Wilbur remembered how he had sat next to Tommy and promised that he would teach him how to never lose someone like that again.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered the day that Philza came home with a bright light in his eyes and how he had swept Tommy into his arms and told him that someone knows where his friend is, told him that he had someone to keep an eye on him. Wilbur remembered how Tommy had broken down at the news, crying into Philza’s shoulder.</p>
<p>Wilbur remembered how light Tommy had seemed afterwards, how much he had laughed and played and been a kid. Wilbur remembered never regretting taking him from that world.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. and a dirt-stained conqueror</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>only five days late but it's about the size of phil's chapter too! this was fighting me every step of the way until yesterday, which might have been helped by me getting a new writing program. i definitely want to get tommy's chapter out soon because i am going to be part of NaNoWriMo so there goes my November and if i don't it won't be out until December/January. it might have dialogue too, unlike the other chapters. who knows, not me!</p><p>yell at me on tumblr if you want: https://writerwinged.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Red. Red red walls and red red floors and red red people. The world that Techno barely remembered was so very red, so very very bloodsoaked. He knew the feeling of netherrack beneath his feet and sandstone dyed red staining everything.</p><p>Heat, heat of the sun pounding down on him, heat rising from the lava beneath him. It had always been hot, had always pressed down on him, had burned and burned him until him grew stronger, until he could stand after falling again and again.</p><p>It wasn’t kind or soft, his barely remembered home, nothing like the worlds Techno would come to know. His earliest memories always involved a sword in hand, a battle to survive. There was no time for family, no time for friends, only the red red blood that poured from his foes.</p><p>He fought and he fought, from the moment he could hold a sword to the moment the world vanished. The star he would come to know as a respawn star was bound and leashed, preventing any respawn. To die was to die, to never stand up again, to vanish.</p><p>Of all the things, Techno remembered the red red sand and stone and heat the best, but he also remembered the beasts in the paintings. They were monstrous things, like nothing he’d ever see, and the people loved them. He had only ever seen one, a small and terrifying thing.</p><p>He killed it, brought his blade down on it, slaughtered it like he had done to everything else that ever faced him. The red red people hadn’t liked that, had screamed at him as it’s body tore a hole in the world. It was the first time he had ever felt the star beat strongly.</p><p>It was the last thing he saw of the red red world. Between one beat and the next, Techno had felt something press down on him, demand he fall and bend. He hadn’t, he stood on shaky legs as the red red world began to scream around him, staring into the depths of the portal.</p><p>It pressed and pressed, and yet he stood. He stood and took a step towards the portal and then another and another and more. Until, suddenly, he was through. His star beat freely, a guiding light as he fell through the void. He never looked back at the red red world.</p><p>~~</p><p>Green. It was the green and white striped hat that caught Techno’s attention that day in the Nether. Techno didn’t see green often, not since he had wandered into this world’s Nether, only on the rotted flesh of the pigmen. </p><p>His steps were light and swift as he darted from cover to cover, his eyes never leaving the grey-clad back. Still, the stranger didn’t turn around. Techno wasn’t fooled, he remembered that people could pretend ignorance so easily. He hadn’t fallen for it in years.</p><p>His grip tightened on the sword he had stolen, the one that had been drenched in red left behind in the red red world. He was still silent, still quick as he followed the green figure through the Nether, standing out against the red red stone.</p><p>Techno doesn’t know what alerts the man, if it was luck, a misstep, or perhaps something else, but when he finally attacks, the green hatted man dodges. He leaps away and turns and stares at him. Techno doesn’t give him a chance to attack back, lunging again and again, trying so hard to land a hit.</p><p>He’d learned, on the red red world, that violence was the only language, that how strong or weak you were determined your worth. Techno had never learned of kindness, not on that red red world, not in the blood soaked pits or by the bloody sword. </p><p>The man never attacked, only dodged and watched, an emotion Techno had never seen in his eyes. Still, he waited for the hatted man to strike back, to lash out, to retaliate. Even when Techno cut him, caused red red blood to drip from the wound, he never attacked, only spoke.</p><p>He… he didn’t understand. Everyone fought back, everyone. So why not this man? Why did he not follow the rules? The sword slowly lowered as Techno waited and waited, a child’s curiosity drawing him to wonder what made this one different.</p><p>Still, even as he made himself more and more vulnerable, the man never attacked, never followed the rules, only watched with wary eyes. He’s not aware of the small, stumbling steps he takes towards the man. He forgets the danger, of both the man and the Nether.</p><p>The world is torn apart by the scream of a ghast, Techno not even given a chance to react before the man lunges, the blast shaking the world around him. The sword slips from his grip as they tumble and the man stands and runs. </p><p>Techno struggles, pounding on his back, his fingers digging in and clawing at the coat, not willing to risk death. It was only when the man put him down that he realized they were away from the open areas, hidden from the monsters.</p><p>He scrambled away from the man, pressing himself up against the netherrack wall to get away from him. The entrance was unblocked, the man far away from him, but he didn’t want test the monsters, not now that the ghast had alerted the rest. Not even being similar to a pigman would save him from their aggravation.</p><p>The man began to pull out bandages and food, tending to his wounds. When he offered some to Techno, he took the offered food and quickly returned to the little alcove he had discovered. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had eaten food not scavenged from the wild.</p><p>The warm, heavy feeling created by his full stomach relaxed his wary muscles, relaxed him into a hazy, deep sleep. When he awoke, he thought the man would be gone and couldn’t contain his gasp at the sight of him still there.</p><p>The man spoke softly, never raised his voice, never acted anything like the adults he had known for years. Techno learned his name was Philza, that he had been exploring, that he was offering safety to him. For a moment, Techno wanted to doubt him, wanted to think that he was no better then all the others.</p><p>But he knew, just like he knew how to kill the beast in the red red world, that this man was nothing like the people from the red red world. He accepted and couldn’t hold back his gasp at the feeling of his guiding star was wrapped up once more. Where the binds of before had been strangling things, had sought to snuff him out, these ones were so very light. They felt so much like his star.</p><p>Again, he was in that gaping void, but this time he was not alone. There was another star, brilliant and bright, binds of light forming a net around his own star. His star was pulled through the void, a directed movement instead of a free fall, to another world.</p><p>The light of the sun, so different from the dark void and the omnipresent glare of the nether, forced him to burrow his head into Philza’s shoulder to hide from the glare. He heard the slamming of wood against wood and an excited voice, but didn’t turn to look.</p><p>The house that he was brought to was simple, made for a family by a man whose heart, while scarred, was kind. That house would be home for a very long time.</p><p>~~</p><p>Techno’s first impression of Wilbur was of his yellow sweater. It reminded him of blazes and, much like them, the boy who wore it burned. His words could range from kind, like the crackle of a campfire, to cruel, like the heat of lava.</p><p>Techno didn’t mind, he was much like the other children in the red red world. They lashed out in fear, in rage, in a desperate desire for him not to take away any more. Wilbur was very, very similar and yet, very different.</p><p>He didn’t remember the fight, it was so much like the others. It wouldn’t be until much later that he would understand that Philza and Wilbur had taken the information he had given them and come to the wrong conclusion.</p><p>Wilbur had lashed out, had said something that was meant to cut deep, but angled for all the wrong places. Instead, when Techno repeated what he said, twisted and refined, it was Wilbur who fled the house, pain and sorrow twisted on his face.</p><p>It only took Techno one look at the setting sun, at the full, red red moon, to realize this was not a night to be out alone. He had grabbed a sword, iron or stone, as he raced after the boy. He didn’t want him to die, didn’t want Philza to worry.</p><p>The shadows grew longer and longer, the sun dipping farther and farther under the ground, the moon burning brighter and brighter, as Techno ran. None of the mobs scared him, nothing did after the beast, but he knew that Wilbur would be so very scared.</p><p>A red night, a red full moon, would caused the worst to come out, the twisted and wretched monsters, amalgamations and things never meant to be. Philza had told them stories of those beasts, of the towns burned and crushed beneath them.</p><p>If Wilbur died, he would again and again in the wild, the star of his respawn tricked away from his safe bed. If he died, Techno wouldn’t find him until morning when Philza returned. He didn’t want that, didn’t want to see Philza’s disappointed look or Wilbur shaking from too many deaths too close together.</p><p>He heard Wilbur scream, a high-pitched sound that echoed in the forest. He followed it, old instincts from the red red world aiding him, guiding him, his star plusing one, twice, thrice, then nothing. He burst through the trees and saw-</p><p>Saw Wilbur pressed against a tree, tears and blood on his face. Saw the monster looming above, a great monstrosity with too many limbs. Saw it’s reaching hand, saw the terror in his brother’s eyes. Saw the world tinged in a red red tint. He never hesitated.</p><p>Once more he stood over the body of a great beast, the world dripping in red. Once more there was silence, before the raucous cries began to echo. Once more, his brilliant star began to beat. This time, though, he wasn’t alone.</p><p>He grabbed his brother and pulled him back to the simple house, guided by his star. They made it, dodging monsters and killing those that they couldn’t, and barricaded the door, huddling in Philza’s room as the cries echoed throughout the night.</p><p>Techno was woken by the door crashing open, reflexively attacking and pulling his brother closer as he screamed. His sword shattered against the armored form, but he wasn’t concerned because it was Philza, his father.</p><p>Both of them were gathered up in his arms, whispered words of relief uttered into their hair as he held them tightly. Wilbur sobbed in his arms and Techno couldn’t stop tears of his own from slipping through. The night was over, the red red moon was gone, they were safe.</p><p>Philza waited until they were calmer before asking what had happened. All Techno said was that they had lost track of time and had been caught unaware of both the night and the moon. He never pressed for more.</p><p>A lot changed between Techno and Wilbur, enough to bring them closer together, enough to allow themselves to call the other brother.</p><p>~~</p><p>Tommy was a surprise, yet at the same time, completely expected. It was Wilbur who found him first, Wilbur who decided that he was part of the family. Techno just happened to follow him out of curiosity.</p><p>Wilbur had been visiting the same world over and over again regularly and he been curious. None of his friends lived there, no one they knew went there, so there had been no reason for him to be there. So Techno had followed him to the park, ignoring the surprised looks from the regulars.</p><p>Wilbur had pointed the boy out, sitting under a tree not far away, as he began to play on his guitar. Techno sat nearby, his eyes shifting over to look at the boy and caught on blue eyes. His eyes were a brilliant blue and within his chest, his star pulsed happily. He’d have to visit again.</p><p>He did, alone and with his brother, once with his friends. Never again, there were far too many puns included in that trip. Regardless, he learned things when it was just him alone. He learned that there were two boys with brilliant blue eyes, the blond and a brunet. </p><p>He learned they were alone except for each other and he learned that they were brothers. The first time he laid eyes on the two of them together, his star reached out achingly to theirs. Practice, with both Wilbur and Philza, allowed him to wrangle it under control before either noticed too much.</p><p>The brunet zeroed in on him instantly, staring as he stared back before waving. The two left quickly, spooked at the sight of a few people entering the park. Techno noted who they were and what they were wearing before he left, a sinking feeling in his gut.</p><p>It was proven right the last time he and Wilbur visited together. The boy hadn’t shown up at all, which wasn’t the first time it had happened, but it was rare. He never liked to miss a chance to listen to Wilbur play.</p><p>Techno settled down to take a nap, keeping an ear out for when Wilbur had given up on waiting. The steady beat of his star stuttered just as Wilbur’s playing did, one eye cracking open to see why. He noticed instantly, the star freezing at the sight of blond’s blood.</p><p>His rose with his brother, following him and scooping the boy into his arms. He was so very light, lighter then any boy of his height had right to be, and Techno burned at the sight of the wounds covering his arms. The boy didn’t react to being picked up and Techno could only hold him closer when he buried his face in his cape.</p><p>He felt when Wilbur’s star reached out to the boy’s, weaving a web and net over his, so much like Philza had done for Techno, so long ago. It was a little clumsy and unwieldy, a few of the strands brushing against the star and causing the boy to stir.</p><p>He didn’t let go as the boy began to struggle against his arms, his star crying out in fear, only pulled him even closer. He shored up the gaps left in Wilbur’s net with his own star threads, preventing any chance of the boy slipping from their arms in the gaping void.</p><p>He didn’t let go of the boy until Philza came home, mouth slightly open and eyes blinking in surprise, at the sight and sound of a fiercely struggling child in Techno’s arms. He didn’t ask where or why, only accepting the boy into their lives.</p><p>While Wilbur never went back to that world, Techno did, eyes searching for the blue eyed brunet. Yet, his star never guided him to the last of his family and he stopped only when Tommy broke down and admitted that he was missing from that world.</p><p>Philza promised to look for him and Wilbur promised to help him learn to never lose someone like that again. Techno knew that Wilbur was powerful, that the code of the world opened far more easily to him, and that Philza’s reach was great, bonds forged long ago holding strong, even now.</p><p>So Techno promised to teach him to fight, so that if anyone tried to threaten him or his again, he could make them work for it. Looking into those blue blue eyes, Techno knew, in his heart, in his star, that his little brother would be brilliant.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. and a rising star</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tommy’s chapter! i had two different plans for this chapter and i literally just... did Not follow them. i like this version the best though. this chapter has actual dialogue and separates from the pattern of the other chapters, which felt right.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy’s world holds several truths that he holds onto:</p><p>1: He didn’t leave his home world willingly</p><p>His memories of his birth world are spotty and patchwork, but he runs through them like clockwork. He remembers that his mother hummed songs, that his father built things with his hands, that the house he was born in was filled with love.</p><p>He had his father’s eyes, his mother’s eyes. He remembered running around the house, shrieking with delight every time they played with him. He has a half-dozen memories of sitting beside his father as he works, shaping wood and clay and metal to make wonderful things.</p><p>He helped his mother in the garden, her voice filling the air with a wonderful song as they planted flowers and vegetables and other plants he was never allowed near. He remembers the air of the house, heavy with the scent of potions and magic as his mother weaved miracles in a bottle.</p><p>It had been one of those days, the house quiet and filled with the sounds of a happy family, when the world had shook. Tommy had cried out in surprise as his father cursed and lunged for him and his mother darted for the locked cupboard he could never reach.</p><p>He had been swept up into his father’s arms, taking the chance to bury his face into his shoulder to hide away from the shaking. His mother had called something to his father, Tommy unable to prevent the small, scared noise that had escaped when he was jostled.</p><p>His father had shushed him softly, the three of them moving away and outside. He remembered his mother, soft-spoken and never needing to raise her voice, shouting curses and threats that were answered with jeering laughter.</p><p>He had peeked out from the safety of his father’s shoulder and had seen people, wearing white and black and red, their faces covered in pitch black masks with blood-red eyes. He remembered the fear he had felt, how his blood had roared in his ears when he had locked eyes with one of them.</p><p>He buried his face back into his father’s shoulder as his mother snarled her displeasure at them. He remembered his father freezing at the reply, the words echoing in his head.</p><p>“Why, we’re here for what we’re due! You did promise anything for our help, all that time ago.”</p><p>“Oh, oh no… Turner? What- what happened to you…” his father had whispered brokenly, a sob escaping his mother.</p><p>“I saw the truth! Unfortunately, I’d already made the mistake of letting you escape, but I’m so glad you invited me to meet your son!” </p><p>(It wouldn’t be until years later, when a long-forgotten memory had bubbled up, that Tommy would make the connection between Turner, the man who had forced him from his home, and the man his parents had spoken with with such fondness.</p><p>His brothers would be very concerned when he froze mid-sentence and tears started to stream down his face. He’d grow very familiar with betrayal, of all types.)</p><p>After that, his memories blurred into a mess of voices, blades clashing and movement. The last clear memory of his parents would be his mother looking at him with a tear-stained face, his father’s back as he fought against Turner.</p><p>“We love you, Tommy, so so much. I’m so sorry, but this is the only way to keep you safe. Promise me this, Tommy, never trust a Beast-Seeker. Promise me!”</p><p>“I promise, mom, please don’t go, don’t send me away!” He remembered how his words caused more tears to fall from his mother’s eyes, her desperate litany of ‘I’m sorry, we love you,’ echoing in his ears as he fell.</p><p>2: His best friend is Tubbo</p><p>He remembers that the days after that are hard. He’s a boy, not even five, who had just lost his home and his family, had just been betrayed by someone that he thought he could trust, his mother’s warning echoing in his ears.</p><p>He spent the first few weeks hiding from the people of the world he had fallen into. There were so many of them, more then he had ever seen before. As he had grown up in a world that only held him and his parents, it was quite overwhelming.</p><p>The worst are seeing the happy families that live there. He watches them from the shadows, hurting and angry and so, so sad. He had lost everything, his family stolen away with practically no chance he’d find them.</p><p>Above all else, he heeds his mother’s warning, the promise he made her, to avoid anyone who looked like those that stole away his happiness. He sees several people that remind him of them, but their masks aren’t dark, the eyes are white instead of red. He still doesn’t trust them.</p><p>That’s how Tubbo finds him. He’s watching another of the masked people speaking to the residents of the world in soft voices, their only answer shaken heads and disappointment. He’s so focused, in fact, that he’s taken by surprise when a voice speaks up from behind him.</p><p>“Why’re you glaring at the Pale Mask?” No matter what Tubbo says, Tommy will deny that he shrieked and spun around in fright. No, he was only lightly surprised. His eyes lock onto another pair of sky blue ones, alight with curiosity.</p><p>“Where did- Why’d you do that?” he yelped, face settling into a frown. The other boy tilted his head to side, his brown bangs flopping in front of his face.</p><p>“I’ve never seen anyone glare at a Pale Mask before.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, I don’t like ‘em. Can’t trust people who hide behind a mask.”</p><p>“Can’t track ‘em either, which kinda is the point? Least, that’s what the adults say.” The other boy shrugged, his eyes not leaving Tommy.</p><p>“Still don’t trust them.” Tommy turned back around, only to let a curse as he noticed the person he’d been following was walking right towards them. His hand was suddenly grabbed and he was being pulled along by the other boy. “Hey! What are you doing!”</p><p>“Come on! I know someplace to hide!” The other boy threw him a grin over his shoulder as they vanished into the maze of alleys, the calls of the masked man fading behind them.</p><p>That was how Tommy and Tubbo meet, so long ago. Tommy remembered how quickly they became friends, clicking together in a way that was amazing and wonderful, best friends and brothers.</p><p>There was a park they liked to visit, close enough to the center that it was safe, but far enough that they wouldn’t be picked up right away by the masked people. They always made sure to leave when they caught wind of them coming to the park, stealing away into the belly of the city until it was safe enough to visit.</p><p>…And he is alive somewhere</p><p>(The day he lost Tubbo haunted Tommy. It wasn’t even to the masked people, but a bunch of regular thugs. The two of them got in a fight they couldn’t win and something happened to take Tubbo away in a burst of light and glitter.</p><p>Of course, that was when the masks came to chase the thugs away, but Tommy had already lost him. His best friend, his brother, his twin, was gone, just like his parents. Tommy ran again, crying and bleeding from the cuts and wounds, ran all the way to their park until he collapsed under their tree and cried and cried.)</p><p>3: His ‘adoption’ was not normal (thank you Wilbur)</p><p>The park was their place. Sure, they had to hide from the masks sometimes and sometimes they got chased out by the park-goers or security, but it was theirs.</p><p>It had been one of the rare times where it was just Tommy at the park, Tubbo off doing his own thing, when he first saw the musician. He hadn’t really seen a person play the guitar before or heard one playing alone and he was curious, so he watched him.</p><p>Tommy figured it would be the only time he saw him, so he wasn’t really concerned about being seen. When the man left, Tommy hung around until one of the guards started to look at him funny and then left. He was surprised when he came by again and the same guitar player was there.</p><p>Guitar Guy became a regular and while Tommy was a little wary, since it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to trick him and gain his trust, he soon grew used to his presence. A lot of other people showed up with him, a group of friends, a ram in a blue sweater, a girl he played guitar with, but most only showed up once or twice.</p><p>The only person that showed up with any where near as often as Guitar Guy was the Crown Guy. It had been both him and Tubbo there the first time he showed up with Guitar Guy, and they nearly bolted when they saw the mask he wore.</p><p>“Tubbo! Tubbo, we need to go!” Tommy grabbed his best friend’s arm, sent straight into a panic at the sight of a mask.</p><p>“Wait, Tommy, wait! It doesn’t look like the ones the Pale Masks wear.” He hissed back, still keeping one eye on the two as they settled down and the Guitar Guy began playing. “If more show up, we can just leave.”</p><p>“…Fine. If more of the masks show up, we’re out of here.” Tommy watched warily for the rest of the day, but no other masks showed up. They grew used to the sight of the Crown Guy and Guitar Guy together, only showing up separately every now and then.</p><p>It became something he looked forward to, the calming sound of Guitar Guy’s music and Crown Guy’s presence scaring off anything that might do the two boys any harm. They started visiting even more, something just calling them to the park.</p><p>At some point, Tommy realized that the masks never showed up to the park anymore. The only time that he and Tubbo had to leave was because of the guards or because of the gangs, never the masks, not since Guitar Guy showed up.</p><p>“Maybe they’re scared of him? I mean, I don’t know why, but they might be?” Tubbo threw out when he mentioned it.</p><p>“No way they’re scared of Guitar Guy.” Tommy shook his head, wrinkling his nose, “If anything, they would be scared of Crown Guy, he always comes with some kind of weapon.”</p><p>“True. But it doesn’t really matter, does it? Just means we’re safe from them there.” Tommy nodded and the conversation was ended. They really hadn’t seen any masks since the two of them started showing up.</p><p>(The next, and last, time Tommy saw any masks was the day that Tubbo was lost and the day his world changed forever.)</p><p>The sun was rising when Tommy reached the park, his wounds stinging and screaming as he stopped. He’d never been to the park this early and wasn’t used to the silence. It felt almost suffocating, the sound of his sniffles being swallowed in the emptiness.</p><p>He hide behind the tree that had all but claimed by the two boys and just stayed there. He wasn’t really aware of time passing, only stirring when he heard the familiar music from Guitar Guy. He peeked from around the tree, seeing both him and Crown Guy and just melting.</p><p>For mow, he was safe from the world. For now, he could sleep and dream without fear. For now, he could forget about what had just happened and trust that he’d be safe. His slumber was dreamless and quiet and he sunk so deep.</p><p>He only began to stir when he felt the soft light of the sun streaming through drapes begin to warm him. It was strange and new and made him start to wake. Tommy only really got scared when he felt himself being held in someone’s arms, their grip tightening as he struggled.</p><p>He could almost feel spots where the sunlight didn’t reach, but they were filled by the harsh warmth of a fire in the night. And once more, Tommy fell from a familiar world.</p><p>(It would take a long time for anyone to ask how Tommy joined his family, and his flippant reply of, “Oh, Wilbur and Techno kidnapped me,” resulted in pandemonium. It was glorious, watching his big brothers struggle to defend themselves.)</p><p>4: His family loves him</p><p>Being kidnapped did not make a good first impression and Philza just accepting that he was now part of the family, without any questions, didn’t really help. Tommy spent a good few weeks trying to get away but no matter how far he went, he couldn’t get away.</p><p>“Come on kid, how many times are we gonna do this?” Guitar Guy, Wilbur, sighed as Tommy was carted back over Crown Guy, Techno’s, shoulder like an angry sack.</p><p>“Until you let me go! I gotta find Tubbo!” Tommy cried as they passed into the house, Techno dropping him onto the couch. Before Tommy could dart away, Philza dropped into a crouch in front of him, looking at him with a frown on his face.</p><p>“Kid, who’s Tubbo?” Tommy turned away, trying not to cry as he asked about his missing friend, “Come on, who’s Tubbo?”</p><p>“He’s the other kid, isn’t he?” Techno cut in, leaning against the wall. Wilbur shot him a curious look, but Techno didn’t stop, “The other kid that used to hang out with you, he’s Tubbo. I’ve been going back and-”</p><p>“Have you seen him?” Tommy burst out, snapping to look at him with hopeful eyes, only for his face to fall at his sharp shake.</p><p>“What happened? Please, we just want to help.” Philza’s voice was soft and he had been so kind, even when Tommy was being as much of a brat as he could, and Tommy broke.</p><p>“It- it was- it was suppose to be safe! We weren’t doing anything and- and they- they just came outta nowhere and- and then- then Tubbo- Tubbo was just gone!” He wailed, slamming into Philza and knocking him back. He buried his face into his chest and wailed.</p><p>Tommy wasn’t really aware of the hands that rubbed circles into his back or the soft words whispered into his ears, he was just so tired. He wanted his best friend back. He drifted off, too tired to be scared anymore.</p><p>Waking up the next, the house felt different. He was still in the room he had been given, but it felt like a weight had been taken off his chest. He staggered out of room and towards the voices, his head clogged and silent.</p><p>The voices cut off when he entered the kitchen and looking up from the floor revealed that all three were watching him quietly. Philza moved from the stove, Techno taking his place and crouched down in front of Tommy. It was so similar to last night that Tommy couldn’t stop the sniffle that escaped him.</p><p>Philza’s eyes were so kind as he carefully placed his hands on his shoulder and looked him in the eye, “I promise you, kid, I will do anything and everything to find your friend. I won’t stop looking.”</p><p>Tommy’s eyes widened at the promise, something settling star-bright in his chest, his eyes snapping over to Wilbur as he spoke up, “I promise I’ll help you keep in touch with him when we find him. You’ll never be separated like that again.”</p><p>Again, tears began to stream down Tommy’s face, sunlight joining the star-bright in his chest. For a moment, it seemed like Techno would never speak up, but, with a clattering of pans, his voice cut through, “No one will ever be able to do that again, kid, promise.”</p><p>Campfire and sunlight and star-bright, all warming his chest with love, and Tommy couldn’t stop the tears, “Tommy, m’ names Tommy.”</p><p>“Hi Tommy, we’re making breakfast, care to join us?” Philza said, a soft smile on his face, and Tommy nodded. The kitchen was bright and his chest was warm and he felt so so loved, just like he had with his parents.</p><p>(It wasn’t always easy. They fought, said things that hurt, did things to each other that cut deep. But with the campfire and sunlight and star-bright in his chest, Tommy knew that they’d be okay.</p><p>And if they weren’t, he’d make a new okay. He wasn’t going to lose another family ever again.)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so hey, this isn't the end. i have a bunch more things i want to write in this verse with a bunch of other characters. i'm probably going to try and do some world-building on my tumblr if your interested, but there'll most likely be spoilers when i do. there's so much i want to build on and i love this verse, so keep an eye out for more!</p><p>my tumblr: https://writerwinged.tumblr.com/</p>
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